Is crypto the new quarter-acre dream?

At least 14 per cent of New Zealanders surveyed in new research say they own, or have previously owned, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in their investment portfolios.

The figures were equal to 700,000 people and included high-net worth individuals and some small business owners, Easy Crypto’s chief commercial officer Paul Quickenden told Markets with Madison.

“Some of them are doing [buying] more than $10 million,” he said, referencing evidence of what he’d seen customers trade on Easy Crypto.

“The research says to us that even property investors are diversifying because they want the better returns and crypto offers that.”

The financial returns of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which was up by more than 60 per cent year to date to around $114,500, made it increasingly attractive to investors, he said, while some were involved solely for its sound money thesis.

“Some people are in it for reasons other than investments, they want to stick it to the banks.”

The figures from research by Protocol Theory, commissioned by Easy Crypto, compared with 10 per cent local investor interest in the asset in 2022, according to the Financial Markets Authority, and an estimated global cryptocurrency ownership average rate of 6.8 per cent, according to Triple A.

Another 31 per cent surveyed said they were considering investing in cryptocurrencies.

It was still far behind New Zealand’s home ownership rate of 64.6 per cent in 2018, according to Statistics New Zealand and TradingEconomics.com, and behind the rate of pet ownership here of 64 per cent in 2016, according to the New Zealand Companion Animal Council.

“The feedback was really clear that they want financial freedom, they feel excluded from property in particular.

“We’re still on the left side of the adoption curve. Probably just got past the really early innovators and early adopters and now getting into that kind of majority part of the market.”

Watch Paul Quickenden explain this exclusive insight on investor interest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, in today’s episode of Markets with Madison above.

Get investment insights from executives and experts on Markets with Madison every Monday and Friday here on the NZ Herald, on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this programme is of a general nature, and is not intended to be personalised financial advice. We encourage you to seek appropriate advice from a qualified professional to suit your individual circumstances.

Madison Reidy is host and executive producer of the NZ Herald’s investment show Markets with Madison. She joined the Herald in 2022 after working in investment, and has covered business and economics for television and radio broadcasters.